Manual of the Laws of Naval War, Oxford, Adopted by
the International Institute of International Law, August 9, 1913.

[The Human Rights Library wishes to express its gratitude to
the Institute Henry Dunant for its contribution of this document.]

The Institute of International Law, at its Christiania session,
declared itself in favour of firmly upholding its former Resolutions
on the abolition of capture and of confiscation of enemy private
property in naval warfare. But at the same time being aware that
this principle is not yet accepted, and deeming that, for so long
as it shall not be, regulation of the right of capture is indispensable,
it entrusted a commission with the task of drawing up stipulations
providing for either contingency. In pursuance of this latter
action, the Institute, at its Oxford session on 9 August 1913,
adopted the following Manual, based on the right of capture (1).

(1) ' Definitions.- Capture ' is the act by which the commander
of a war-ship substitutes his authority for that of the captain
of the enemy ship, subject to the subsequent judgment of the prize
court as to the ultimate fate of the ship and its cargo.

' Seizure, ' when applied to a ship, is the act by which a
war-ship takes possession of the vessel detained, with or without
the consent of the captain of the latter. Seizure differs tom
capture in that the ultimate fate of the vessel may not be involved
as a result of its condemnation.

Applied to goods alone, seizure is the act by which the war-ship,
with or without the consent of the captain of the vessel detained,
takes possession of the goods and holds them or disposes of them
subject to the subsequent judgment of the prize court.

' Confiscation ' is the act by which the prize court renders
valid the capture of a vessel or the seizure of its goods.

The word ' prize ' is a general expression applying to a captured
ship or to seized goods.

By ' public ships ' are meant all ships other than war-ships
which, belonging to the State or to individuals, are set apart
for public service and are under the orders of an officer duly
commissioned by the State. (Note in the original).

SECTION I

ON LOCALITIES WHERE HOSTILITIES MAY TAKE PLACE

Article 1. Rules peculiar
to naval warfare are applicable only on the high seas and in the
territorial waters of the belligerents, exclusive of those waters
which, from the standpoint of navigation, ought not to be considered
as maritime.

SECTION II

ON THE ARMED FORCE OF BELLIGERENT STATES

Art. 2. War-ships. Constituting part of the
armed force of a belligerent State and, therefore, subject as
such to the laws of naval warfare are:

(1) All ships belonging to the State which, under the direction
of a military commander and manned by a military crew, carry legally
the ensign and the pendant of the national navy.

(2) Ships converted by the State into war-ships in conformity
with Articles 3-6.

Art. 3. Conversion of public and private vessels into war-ships.
A vessel converted into a war-ship cannot have the rights and
duties accruing to such vessels, unless it is placed under the
direct authority, immediate control, and responsibility of the
Power whose flag it flies.

Art. 4. Vessels converted into war-ships must bear the exterior
marks which distinguish the war-ships of their nationality.

Art. 5. The commander must be in the service of the State and
duly commissioned by the competent authorities; his name must
appear on the list of officers of the fighting fleet.

Art. 6. The crew must be subject to the rules of military discipline.

Art. 7. Every vessel converted into a war-ship must observe
in its operations the laws and customs of war.

Art. 8. The belligerent who converts a vessel into a war-ship
must, as soon as possible, announce such conversion in the list
of war-ships.

Art. 9. The conversion of a vessel into a war-ship may be accomplished
by a belligerent only in its own waters, in those of an allied
State also a belligerent, in those of the adversary, or, lastly,
in those of a territory occupied by the troops of one of these
States.

Art. 10. Conversion of war-ships into public or private vessels.
A war-ship may not, while hostilities last, be converted into
a public or a private vessel.

Art. 11. Belligerent personnel. Constituting part of the armed
force of a belligerent State and, therefore, in so far as they
carry on operations at sea, subject as such to the laws of naval
warfare, are:

(1) The personnel of the ships mentioned in Article 2; (2)
The troops of the naval forces, active or reserve; (3) The militarized
personnel on the seacoasts; (4) The regular forces, other than
naval forces, or those regularly organized in conformity with
Article 1 of the Hague Regulations of 18 October 1907, concerning
the laws and customs of war on land.

Apart from the conditions laid down in Articles 3 and following,
neither public nor private vessels, nor their personnel, may commit
acts of hostility against the enemy. Both may, however, use force
to defend themselves against the attack of an enemy vessel.

Art. 13. Population of unoccupied territory. The inhabitants
of a territory which has not been occupied who, upon the approach
of the enemy, spontaneously arm vessels to fight him, without
having had time to convert them into war-ships in conformity with
Articles 3 and following, shall be considered as belligerents,
if they act openly and if they respect the laws and usages of
war.

SECTION III

ON MEANS OF INJURING THE ENEMY

Art. 14. Principle. The right of belligerents to adopt means
of injuring the enemy is not unlimited.

Art. 15. Treacherous and barbarous methods. Ruses of war are
considered permissible. Methods, however, which involve treachery
are forbidden.

Thus it is forbidden:

(1) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to
the opposite side;

(2) To make improper use of a flag of truce, to make use of
false flags, uniforms, or insignia, of whatever kind, especially
those of the enemy, as well as of the distinctive badges of the
medical corps indicated in Articles 41 and 42.

Art. 16. In addition to the prohibitions which shall be established
by special conventions, it is forbidden: (1) To employ poison
or poisoned weapons, or projectiles the sole object of which is
the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases; (2) To employ
arms, projectiles, or materials calculated to cause unnecessary
suffering. Entering especially into this category are explosive
projectiles or those charged with fulminating or inflammable materials,
less than 400 grammes in weight, and bullets which expand or flatten
easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope
which does not cover the core entirely or is pierced with incisions.

Art. 17. It is also forbidden:

(1) To kill or to wound an enemy who, having laid down his
arms or having no longer means of defense, has surrendered at
discretion;

(2) To sink a ship which has surrendered, before having taken
off the crew;

(3) To declare that no quarter will be given.

Art. 18. Pillage and devastation are forbidden. It is forbidden
to destroy enemy property, except in the cases where such destruction
is imperatively required by the necessities of war or authorized
by provisions of the present regulations.

Art. 19. Torpedoes. It is forbidden to employ torpedoes which
do not become harmless when they have missed their mark.

Art. 20. Submarine mines. It is forbidden to lay automatic
contact mines, anchored or not, in the open sea.

Art. 21. Belligerents may lay mines in their territorial waters
and in those of the enemy.

But it is forbidden, even in territorial waters: (1) To lay
unanchored automatic contact mines unless they are so constructed
as to become harmless one hour at most after the person who laid
them ceases to control them;

(2) To lay anchored automatic contact mines which do not become
harmless as soon as they have broken loose from their moorings.

Art. 22. A belligerent may not lay mines along the coast and
harbours of his adversary except for naval and military ends.
He is forbidden to lay them there in order to establish or to
maintain a commercial blockade.

Art. 23. When automatic contact mines, anchored or unanchored,
are employed, every precaution must be taken for the security
of peaceful shipping. The belligerents must do their utmost to
render these mines harmless within a limited time. Should the
mines cease to be under surveillance, the belligerents shall notify
the danger zones. as soon as military exigencies permit, by a
notice addressed to ship-owners, which must also be communicated
to the governments through the diplomatic channel.

Art. 24. At the close of the war, the belligerent States shall
do their utmost to remove the mines that they have laid, each
one its own.

As regards the anchored automatic contact mines laid by one
of the belligerents off the coast of the other, their position
must be notified to the other party by the State that has laid
them, and each State must proceed, with the least possible delay,
to remove the mines in its own waters.

Belligerent States upon whom rests the obligation of removing
these mines after the war is over shall, with as little delay
as possible, make known the fact that, so far as is possible,
the mines have been removed.

A place cannot be bombarded solely because submarine automatic
contact mines are anchored off its coast.

Art. 26. Military works, military or naval establishments,
depots of arms or war ' matériel, ' workshops or plants
which could be utilized for the needs of the hostile fleet or
army, and the war-ships in the harbour, are not, however, included
in this prohibition. The commander of a naval force may destroy
them with artillery, after a summons followed by a reasonable
time of waiting, if all other means are impossible, and when the
local authorities have not themselves destroyed them within the
time fixed.

He incurs no responsibility for any unavoidable damage which
may be caused by a bombardment under such circumstances.

If for military reasons immediate action is necessary, and
no delay can be allowed the enemy, it is understood that the prohibition
to bombard the undefended town holds good, as in the case given
in paragraph 1, and that the commander shall take all due measures
in order that the town may suffer as little harm as possible.

Art. 27. The bombardment of undefended ports, towns, villages,
dwellings, or buildings because of the non-payment of contributions
of money, or the refusal to comply with requisitions for provisions
or supplies is forbidden.

Art. 28. In bombardments all useless destruction is forbidden,
and especially should all necessary measures be taken by the commander
of the attacking force to spare, as far as possible, sacred edifices,
buildings used for artistic, scientific, or charitable purposes,
historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick or wounded
are collected. on condition that they are not used at the same
time for military purposes.

It is the duty of the inhabitants to indicate such monuments,
edifices, or places by visible signs, which shall consist of large
stiff rectangular panels divided diagonally into two coloured
triangular portions, the upper portion black, the lower portion
white.

Art. 29. If the military situation permits, the commander of
the attacking naval force, before commencing the bombardment,
must do his utmost to warn the authorities.

Art. 30. Blockade. Ports and coasts belonging to the enemy
or occupied by him may be subjected to blockade according to the
rules of international law.

SECTION IV

ON THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE BELLIGERENT WITH REGARD TO
ENEMY PROPERTY

Art. 31. A. Ships and cargoes -- War-ships. The armed forces
of a State may attack the enemy's war-ships, to take possession
of them or to destroy them, together with their equipment and
supplies, whether these ships, at the beginning of the struggle,
are in a harbour of the State, or are encountered at sea, in ignorance
of hostilities; or by ' force majeure ' are either compelled to
enter a port, or are cast on the shores of said State.

Art. 32. Public and private vessels -- Stopping, visit, and
search. All vessels other than those of the navy, whether they
belong to the State or to individuals, may be summoned by a belligerent
war-ship to stop, that a visit and search may be conducted on
board them. The belligerent war-ship, in ordering a vessel to
stop, shall fire a charge of powder as a summons and, if that
warning is not sufficient, shall fire a projectile across the
bow of the vessel. Previously or at the same time, the war-ship
shall hoist its flag, above which, at night, a signal light shall
be placed. The vessel answers the signal by hoisting its own flag
and by stopping at once; whereupon, the war-ship shall send to
the stopped vessel a launch manned by an officer and a sufficient
number of men, of whom only two or three shall accompany the officer
on board the stopped vessel.

Visit consists in the first place in an examination of the
ship's papers.

If the ship's papers are insufficient or not of a nature to
allay suspicion, the officer conducting the visit has the right
to proceed to a search of the vessel, for which purpose he must
ask the cooperation of the captain.

Visit of post packets must, as Article 53 says, be conducted
with all the consideration and all the expedition possible.

Vessels convoyed by a neutral war-ship are not subject to visit
except in so far as permitted by the rules relating to convoys.

Art. 33. Principle of capture. Public and private vessels of
enemy nationality are subject to capture, and enemy goods on board,
public or private, are liable to seizure.

Art. 34. Capture and seizure are permitted even when the vessels
or the goods have fallen into the power of the belligerent because
of ' force majeure, ' through shipwreck or by being compelled
to put into port.

Art. 35. Vessels which possess no ship's papers, which have
intentionally destroyed or hidden those that they had, or which
offer false ones, are liable to seizure.

Art. 36. Extenuation of the principle of capture. When a public
or private vessel belonging to one of the belligerent Powers is,
at the commencement of hostilities, in an enemy port, it is allowed
to depart freely, immediately or after a reasonable number of
days of grace, and to proceed, after having been furnished with
a passport, to its port of destination, or to any other port indicated.

The same rule should apply in the case of a ship which has
left its last port of departure before the commencement of the
war and entered an enemy port while still ignorant of hostilities.

Art. 37. The public or private vessel unable, owing to circumstances
of ' force majeure, ' to leave the enemy port within the period
contemplated in the preceding article, cannot be captured.

The belligerent may only detain it without payment of compensation
but subject to the obligation of restoring it after the war, or
requisition it on payment of compensation.

Art. 38. Enemy vessels, public or private, which left their
last port of departure before the commencement of the war and
which are encountered on the high seas while still ignorant of
the outbreak of hostilities, cannot be captured. They are only
liable to detention on the understanding that they shall be restored
after the war without compensation, or requisitioned, or even
destroyed, on payment of compensation, but in such case provision
must be made for the safety of the passengers on board as well
as for the security of the ship's papers. But, where these vessels
shall be encountered at sea before the expiration of a sufficient
period to be granted by the belligerent, seizure is not permissible.
Vessels thus encountered are free to proceed to their port of
destination or to any other port indicated.

After touching at a port in their own country or at a neutral
port, these vessels are subject to capture.

Art. 39. Enemy cargo found on board the ships detained under
Articles 37 and 38 may likewise be held. It must be restored after
the termination of the war without payment of indemnity, unless
requisitioned on payment of compensation.

The same rule is applicable to goods which are contraband of
war found on board the vessels mentioned in Articles 36, 37 and
38, even when these vessels are not subject to capture.

Art. 40. In all cases considered in Articles 36, 37 and 38,
public or private ships whose build shows that they are intended
for conversion into war-ships, may be seized or requisitioned
upon payment of compensation. These vessels shall be restored
after the war. Goods found on board these ships shall be dealt
with according to the rules in Article 39.

e vessels are not Art. 41. Exceptions to the principles in
Articles 31 and 32 -- Hospital ships. Military hospital ships,
that is to say, ships constructed or assigned by States specially
and solely with a view to assisting the wounded, sick and shipwrecked,
the names of which have been communicated to the belligerent Powers
at the commencement or during the course of hostilities, and in
any case before they are employed, shall be respected, and cannot
be captured while hostilities last.

Military hospital ships shall be distinguished by being painted
white outside with a horizontal band of green about a metre and
a half (five feet) in breadth. The boats of the ships above mentioned,
as also small craft which may be used for hospital work, shall
be distinguished by similar painting.

All hospital ships shall make themselves known by hoisting,
with their national flag the white flag with the red cross provided
by the Geneva Convention.

The ships and boats above mentioned which wish to ensure by
night the freedom from interference to which they are entitled,
must, subject to the belligerent they are accompanying, take the
measures necessary to render their special painting sufficiently
plain.

The distinguishing signs referred to in this article can be
used only outside with a horizontal band of green about a metre
and a half (five feet) in breadth. These ships cannot be used
for any military purpose. They must in no wise hamper the movements
of the combatants.

During and after an engagement, they will act at their own
risk and peril.

The belligerents shall have the right to control and search
them; they can refuse to help them, order them off, make them
take a certain course, and put a commissioner on board; they can
even detain them, if important circumstances require it.

As far as possible, the belligerents shall enter in the log
of the hospital ships the orders which they give them.

Hospital ships which, under the terms of this Article, are
detained by the enemy, must haul down the national flag of the
belligerent to whom they belong.

Art. 42. Hospital ships, equipped wholly or in part at the
expense of private individuals or officially recognized relief
societies, shall likewise be respected and exempt from capture,
if the belligerent Power to whom they belong has given them an
official commission and has notified their names to the hostile
Power at the commencement of or during hostilities, and in any
case before they are employed.

These ships must be provided with a certificate from competent
authorities declaring that the vessels have been under their control
while fitting out and on final departure.

The ships in question shall be distinguished by being painted
white outside with a horizontal band of red about a metre and
a half (five feet) in breadth.

They are subject to the regulations laid down for military
hospital ships by Article 41.

Art. 43. In case of a fight on board a war-ship, the sick-wards
and the ' matériel ' belonging to them shall be respected
and spared as far as possible. Although remaining subject to the
laws of war, they cannot be used for any purpose other than that
for which they were originally intended, so long as they are required
for the sick and wounded. The commander into whose power they
have fallen may, however, apply them to other purposes, if the
military situation requires it, after seeing that the sick and
wounded on board are properly provided for.

Art. 44. Hospital ships and sick-wards of vessels are no longer
entitled to protection if they are employed for the purpose of
injuring the enemy. The fact that the staff of the said ships
and sick-wards is armed for maintaining order and for defending
the sick and wounded, and the presence of wireless telegraphy
apparatus on board, are not sufficient reasons for withdrawing
protection.

Art. 45. Cartel ships. Ships called cartel ships, which act
as bearers of a flag of truce, may not be seized while fulfilling
their mission, even if they belong to the navy.

A ship authorized by one of the belligerents to enter into
a parley with the other and carrying a white flag is considered
a cartel ship.

The commanding officer to whom a cartel ship is sent is not
obliged to receive it under all circumstances. He can take all
measures necessary to prevent the cartel ship from profiting by
its mission to obtain information. In case it abuses its privileges,
he has the right to hold the cartel ship temporarily.

A cartel ship loses its rights of inviolability if it is proved,
positively and unexceptionably, that the commander has profited
by the privileged position of his vessel to provoke or to commit
a treacherous act.

Art. 47. Vessels used exclusively for fishing along the coast
and for local trade. Vessels used exclusively for fishing along
the coast, or for local trade, under which term are included those
used exclusively for piloting or for light-house service, as well
as the boats meant principally for the navigation of rivers, canals,
and lakes, are exempt from seizure, together with their appliances,
rigging, tackle and cargo.

It is forbidden to take advantage of the harmless character
of said boats in order to use them for military purposes while
preserving their peaceful appearance.

Art. 48. Vessels furnished with a safe-conduct or a licence.
Enemy vessels provided with a safe-conduct or a licence are exempt
from seizure.

Art. 49. Suspension of immunities. The exceptions considered
in Articles 41, 42, 45, 46, 47 and 48 cease to be applicable if
the vessels to which they refer participate in the hostilities
in any manner whatsoever or commit other acts which are forbidden
to neutrals as unneutral service.

The same suspension occurs if, summoned to stop to submit to
search, they seek to escape by force or by flight.

Art. 50. Rights of the belligerent in the zone of operations.
When a belligerent has not the right of seizing or of capturing
enemy vessels, he may, even on the high seas, forbid them to enter
the zone corresponding to the actual sphere of his operations.

He may also forbid them within this zone to perform certain
acts calculated to interfere with his activities, especially certain
acts of communication, such, for example, as the use of wireless
telegraphy.

The simple infraction of these prohibitions will entail driving
the vessel back, even by force, from the forbidden zone and the
sequestration of the apparatus. The vessel, if it be proved that
it has communicated with the enemy to furnish him with information
concerning the conduct of hostilities, can be considered as having
placed itself at the service of the enemy and, consequently, with
its apparatus, shall be liable to capture.

Art. 51. Enemy character. The enemy or neutral character of
a vessel is determined by the flag which it is entitled to fly.

The enemy or neutral character of goods found on board an enemy
vessel is determined by the enemy or the neutral character of
the owner.

Each State must declare, not later than the outbreak of hostilities,
whether the enemy or neutral character of the owner of the goods
is determined by his place of residence or his nationality.

Enemy goods found on board an enemy ship retain their enemy
character until they reach their destination, notwithstanding
any transfer effected after the outbreak of hostilities while
the goods are being forwarded. If, however, prior to the capture,
a former neutral owner exercises, on the bankruptcy of an existing
enemy owner, a recognized legal right to recover the goods, they
regain their neutral character.

Art. 52. Transfer to a neutral flag. The transfer of an enemy
vessel to a neutral flag, effected before the outbreak of hostilities,
is valid, unless it is proved that such transfer was made in order
to evade the consequences to which an enemy vessel as such is
exposed. There is, however, a presumption, if the bill of sale
is not on board a vessel which has lost its belligerent nationality
less than sixty days before the outbreak of hostilities, that
the transfer is void; this presumption may be rebutted.

Where the transfer was effected more than thirty days before
the outbreak of hostilities, there is an absolute presumption
that it is valid if it is unconditional, complete, and in conformity
with the laws of the countries concerned, and if its effect is
such that neither the control of, nor the profits arising from
the employment of, the vessel remain in the same hands as before
the transfer. If, however, the vessel lost her belligerent nationality
less than sixty days before the outbreak of hostilities and if
the bill of sale is not on board, the capture of the vessel gives
no right to damages. The transfer of an enemy vessel to a neutral
flag effected after the outbreak of hostilities, is void unless
it is proved that such transfer was not made in order to evade
the consequences to which an enemy vessel, as such, is exposed.

There is, however, an absolute presumption that a transfer
is void:

(1) if the transfer has been made during a voyage or in a blockaded
port;

(2) if a right to repurchase or recover the vessel is reserved
to the vendor;

(3) if the requirements of the municipal law governing the
right to fly the flag under which the vessel is sailing, have
not been fulfilled.

Art. 53. B. Postal correspondence. Postal

correspondence, whatever its official or private character
may be, found on the high seas on board an enemy ship, is inviolable,
unless it is destined for or proceeding from a blockaded port.

The inviolability of postal correspondence does not exempt
mail-boats from the laws and customs of maritime war as to ships
in general. The ship, however, may not be searched except when
absolutely necessary, and then only with as much consideration
and expedition as possible. If the ship on which the mail is sent
be seized, the correspondence is forwarded by the captor with
the least possible delay.

Art. 54. C. Submarine cables. In the conditions stated below,
belligerent States are authorized to destroy or to seize only
the submarine cables connecting their territories or two points
in these territories, and the cables connecting the territory
of one of the nations engaged in the war with a neutral territory.

The cable connecting the territories of the two belligerents
or two points in the territory of one of the belligerents, may
be seized or destroyed throughout its length, except in the waters
of a neutral State. A cable connecting a neutral territory with
the territory of one of the belligerents may not, under any circumstances,
be seized or destroyed in the waters under the power of a neutral
territory. On the high seas, this cable may not be seized or destroyed
unless there exists an effective blockade and within the limits
of that blockade, on consideration of the restoration of the cable
in the shortest time possible. This cable may be seized or destroyed
on the territory of and in the waters belonging to the territory
of the enemy for a distance of three marine miles from low tide.
Seizure or destruction may never take place except in case of
absolute necessity. In applying the preceding rules no distinction
is to be made between cables, according to whether they belong
to the State or to individuals; nor is any regard to be paid to
the nationality of their owners.

Submarine cables connecting belligerent territory with neutral
territory, which have been seized or destroyed, shall be restored
and compensation fixed when peace is made.

SECTION V

ON THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE BELLIGERENT WITH REGARD TO
INDIVIDUALS

Art. 55. A. Personnel of vessels -- War-ships. When a war-ship
is captured by the enemy, combatants and non-combatants forming
part of the armed forces of the belligerents, arc to be treated
as prisoners of war.

Art. 56. Public or private vessels. When an enemy ship, public
or private, is seized by a belligerent, such of its crew as are
nationals of a neutral State, are not made prisoners of war. The
same rule applies in the case of the captain and officers likewise
nationals of a neutral State, if they promise in writing not to
take, during hostilities, any service connected with the operations
of the war. The captain, officers and members of the crew, when
nationals of the enemy State, are not made prisoners of war, on
condition that they make a formal promise in writing not to undertake,
while hostilities last, any service connected with the operations
of the war.

Art. 57. The names of the persons retaining their liberty on
condition of the promise provided for by the preceding article,
are notified by the belligerent captor to the other belligerent.
The latter is forbidden knowingly to employ the said persons.

Art. 58. All persons constituting part of the crew of a public
or a private enemy ship are, in the absence of proof to the contrary,
presumed to be of enemy nationality.

Art. 59. Members of the personnel of an enemy ship which, because
of its special character, is itself exempt from seizure, cannot
be held as enemies.

Art. 60. When a public or a private ship has directly or indirectly
taken part in the hostilities, the enemy may retain as prisoners
of war the whole personnel of the ship, without prejudice to the
penalties he might otherwise incur.

Art. 61. Members of the personnel of a public or of a private
vessel, who are personally guilty of an act of hostility towards
the enemy, may be held by him as prisoners of war, without prejudice
to the penalties he might otherwise incur.

Art. 62. B. Passengers. When individuals who follow a naval
force without belonging to it, such as contractors, newspaper
correspondents, etc., fall into the enemy's hands, and when the
latter thinks it expedient to detain them, they may be detained
only so long as military exigencies require. They are entitled
to be treated as prisoners of war.

Art. 63. Passengers who, without forming part of the crew,
are on board an enemy ship, may not be detained as prisoners of
war, unless they have been guilty of a hostile act.

All passengers included in the armed force of the enemy may
be made prisoners of war, even if the vessel is not subject to
seizure.

Art. 64. C. Religious, medical, and hospital personnel. The
religious, medical, and hospital staff of every vessel taken or
seized is inviolable, and its members may not be made prisoners
of war. On leaving the ship they take away with them the objects
and surgical instruments which are their own private property.
This staff shall continue to discharge its duties while necessary,
and can afterwards leave, when the commander in chief considers
it possible.

The belligerents must guarantee to the said staff, when it
has fallen into their hands, the same allowances and pay which
are given to the staff of corresponding rank in their own navy.

The commissioner put by the belligerent on board the hospital
ship of his adversary, in conformity with paragraph 10 of Article
41, enjoys the same protection as the medical staff.

The religious, medical, and hospital staffs lose their rights
of inviolability, if they take part in hostilities, if, for example,
they use their arms otherwise than for defense.

It loses its rights of inviolability if it is proved in a clear
and incontestable manner that it has taken advantage of its privileged
position to provoke or commit an act of treason.

Art. 66. E. Spies. A spy, even when taken in the act, may not
be punished without first being tried.

Art. 67. A person can be considered a spy only when, acting
clandestinely or on false pretenses, thus concealing his operations,
he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of
operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating
it to the hostile party.

Hence, soldiers not wearing a disguise who have penetrated
into the zone of operations of the hostile fleet for the purpose
of obtaining information, may not be considered as spies but are
to be treated as prisoners of war. Similarly, soldiers or civilians,
carrying out their mission openly, entrusted with the delivery
of dispatches, or engaged in transmitting and receiving dispatches
by wireless telegraphy, are not to be considered as spies. To
this class belong likewise persons sent in air-ships or in hydro-aeroplanes
to act as scouts in the zone of operations of the enemy fleet
or to maintain

communications.

Art. 68. The spy who succeeds in escaping from the zone corresponding
to the enemy's actual sphere of operations, or who has rejoined
the armed force to which he belongs, if he later falls into the
power of the enemy, incurs no responsibility for his previous
acts.

Art. 69. F. Requisition of nationals of the enemy State --
Guides, pilots, and hostages. A belligerent has no right to force
persons who fall into his power, or nationals of the adverse party
in general, to take part in the operations of the war directed
against their own country, even when they were in his service
before the beginning of the war, or to compel them to furnish
information concerning their own State, its forces, its military
position, or its means of defense.

He cannot force them to act as guides or as pilots. He may,
however, punish those who knowingly and voluntarily offer themselves
in order to mislead him. Compelling nationals of a belligerent
to swear allegiance to the enemy Power is not permitted. The taking
of hostages is forbidden.

Art. 70. G. Prisoners of war. Prisoners of war are in the power
of the hostile government, but not of the individuals or corps
who capture them.

They must be humanely treated.

All their personal belongings, except arms, horses, military
papers, and all objects in general which are specially adapted
to a military end, remain their property.

Art. 71. Prisoners of war may be interned on a ship only in
case of necessity and temporarily.

Art. 72. The government into whose hands prisoners of war have
fallen is charged with their maintenance.

Art. 73. All prisoners of war, so long as they are on board
a ship, shall be subject to the laws, regulations, and orders
in force in the navy of the State in whose power they are.

Art. 74. Escaped prisoners who are retaken before succeeding
in escaping from the enemy's actual sphere of action, or before
being able to rejoin the armed force to which they belong, are
liable to disciplinary punishment. Prisoners who, after succeeding
in escaping, are again taken prisoners, are not liable to any
punishment on account of the previous flight.

Art. 75. Every prisoner of war is bound to give, if he is questioned
on the subject, his true name and rank, and if he infringes this
rule, he is liable to have the advantages given to prisoners of
his class curtailed.

Art. 76. Prisoners of war may be set at liberty on parole if
the laws of their country allow, and, in such cases, they are
bound, on their personal honour, scrupulously to fulfil, both
towards their own government and the government by whom they were
made prisoners, the engagements they have contracted.

In such cases their own government is bound neither to require
nor to accept from them any service incompatible with the parole
given.

Art. 77. A prisoner of war cannot be compelled to accept his
liberty on parole; similarly the hostile government is not obliged
to accede to the request of the prisoner to be set at liberty
on parole.

Art. 78. Prisoners of war liberated on parole and recaptured
bearing arms against the government to whom they had pledged their
honour, or against the allies of that government, forfeit their
right to be treated as prisoners of war, and can be brought before
the courts, unless, subsequent to their liberation, they have
been included in an unconditional cartel of exchange.

Art. 79. Prisoners in naval warfare disembarked on land are
subject to the rules laid down for prisoners in land warfare.

The same regulations should be applied, as far as possible,
to prisoners of war interned on a vessel. The preceding rules
must, as far as it is possible to apply them, be followed toward
prisoners of war from the moment they are captured, when they
are on the ship which takes them to the place of their internment.

Art. 80. After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of
prisoners of war shall be carried out as quickly as possible.

Art. 81. H. Wounded, sick, shipwrecked and dead. Vessels used
for hospital service shall afford relief and assistance to the
wounded, sick and shipwrecked of the belligerents without distinction
of nationality.

Art. 82. In case of the capture or seizure of an enemy vessel
or a hospital ship that has failed in its duty, the sailors and
soldiers on board, when sick or wounded, as well as other persons
officially attached to fleets or armies, whatever their nationality,
shall be respected and tended by their captors.

Art. 83. Any war-ship belonging to a belligerent may demand
that sick, wounded or shipwrecked men on board military hospital
ships, hospital ships belonging to relief societies or to private
individuals, merchant ships, yachts, or boats, whatever the nationality
of these vessels, should be handed over.

Art. 84. The shipwrecked, wounded, or sick of one of the belligerents
who fall into the power of the other belligerent are prisoners
of war. The captor must decide, according to circumstances, whether
to keep them, send them to a port of his own country, to a neutral
port, or even to an enemy port. In this last case, prisoners thus
repatriated cannot serve again while the war lasts.

Art. 85. After every engagement, the two belligerents, so far
as military interests permit, shall take steps to look for the
shipwrecked and wounded, and to protect them, as well as the dead,
from pillage and ill-treatment. They shall see that the burial,
whether by land or sea, or the cremation of the dead shall be
preceded by a careful examination of the corpse.

Art. 86. Each belligerent shall send, as early as possible,
to the authorities of their country, their navy, or their army
the military marks or documents of identity found on the dead
and the description of the sick and wounded picked up by him.

The belligerents shall keep each other informed as to internments
and transfers as well as to admissions into hospitals and the
deaths which have occurred among the sick and wounded in their
hands. They shall collect, in order to have them forwarded to
the persons concerned by the authorities of their own country,
all the objects of personal use, valuables, letters, etc., which
are found in the captured or seized ships, or which have been
left by the sick or wounded who died in hospital.

Art. 87. In the case of operations of war between the land
and sea forces of belligerents, the provisions of the present
regulations on hospital assistance do not apply except between
the forces actually on board ship.

SECTION VI

ON THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE BELLIGERENT IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY

Art. 88. Occupation: extent and effects. Occupation of maritime
territory, that is of gulfs, bays, roadsteads, ports, and territorial
waters, exists only when there is at the same time an occupation
of continental territory, by either a naval or a military force.
The occupation, in that case, is subject to the laws and usages
of war on land.

SECTION VII

ON CONVENTIONS BETWEEN BELLIGERENTS

Art. 89. General rules. The commander of any belligerent naval
force may conclude agreements of a purely military character concerning
the forces under his command.

He may not, without authority from his government, conclude
any agreement of a political character, such as a general armistice.

Art. 90. All agreements between belligerents must take into
account the rules of military honour, and, once settled, must
be scrupulously observed by the two parties.

Art. 91. Capitulation. After having concluded a capitulation
the commander may neither damage nor destroy the ships, objects,
or supplies in his possession, but must surrender them unless
the right of so doing has been expressly reserved to him in the
terms of the

capitulation.

Art. 92. Armistice. An armistice suspends military operations.

Blockades established at the time of the armistice are not
raised, unless by a special stipulation of the agreement.

The exercise of the right of visit continues to be permitted.
The right of capture ceases except in cases where it exists with
regard to neutral vessels.

Art. 93. An armistice may be general or partial. The first
suspends the military operations of the belligerent States everywhere;
the second, only between certain portions of the belligerent forces
and within a fixed radius.

Art. 94. The agreement which proclaims an armistice must indicate
precisely the moment it is to begin and the moment it is to end.

An armistice must be notified officially and in good time to
the competent authorities as well as to the forces engaged.

Art. 95. Hostilities are suspended at the date fixed by the
agreement, or, if no date has been set, immediately after the
notification.

If the duration of the armistice has not been defined, the
belligerent parties may resume operations at any time, provided
always that the enemy is warned in good time.

Art. 96. The terms of a naval armistice shall settle, in cases
where they permit the approach of enemy war-ships to certain points
of the enemy's coast, the conditions of this approach and the
communications of these ships either with the local authorities,
or with the inhabitants.

Art. 97. Any serious violation of the armistice by one of the
parties gives the other party the right of denouncing it, and
even, in cases of urgency, of recommencing hostilities immediately.

Art. 98. A violation of the terms of the armistice by isolated
individuals, acting on their own initiative, entitles the injured
party only to demand the punishment of the offenders or, if necessary,
compensation for the losses sustained.

Art. 99. Suspension of arms. A suspension of arms must, like
an armistice, determine precisely the moment when hostilities
are to be suspended and the moment when it ceases to be effective.

If no time is set for resuming hostilities, the belligerent
who intends to continue the struggle must warn the enemy of his
intention in good time.

The rupture of a suspension of arms by one of the belligerents
or by isolated individuals entails the consequences stated in
Articles 97 and 98.

SECTION VIII

ON THE FORMALITIES OF SEIZURE AND ON PRIZE PROCEDURE

Art. 100. Formalities of
seizure. When, after the search has been conducted, the vessel
is considered subject to capture, the officer who seizes the ship
must: (1) Seal all the ship's papers after having inventoried
them;

(2) Draw up a report of the seizure, as well as a short inventory
of the vessel stating its condition;

(3) State the condition of the cargo which he has inventoried,
then close the hatchways of the hold, the chests and the store-room
and, as far as circumstances will permit, seal them;

(4) Draw up a list of the persons found on board; (5) Put on
board the seized vessel a crew sufficient to retain possession
of it, maintain order upon it, and conduct it to such port as
he may see fit. If he thinks fit, the captain may, instead of
sending a crew aboard a vessel, confine himself to escorting it.

Art. 101. Except for persons who may be considered prisoners
of war or who are liable to Punishment, a belligerent may not
detain on a seized ship for more than a reasonable time, those
necessary as witnesses in ascertaining the facts; but for insurmountable
obstacles he must set them at liberty after the ' procès-verbal
' of their depositions has been drawn up.

If special circumstances require it, the captain, the officers,
and a part of the crew of the captured ship may be taken on board
the captor.

The captor shall attend to the maintenance of the persons detained,
and shall always give them, as well as the crew, when they are
set at liberty, means temporarily necessary for their further
maintenance.

Art. 102. The seized ship must be taken to the nearest possible
port belonging either to the captor State or to an allied belligerent
Power, which offers safe refuge, and has means of easy communication
with the prize court charged with deciding upon the capture.

During the voyage, the prize shall sail under the flag and
the pendant carried by the war-ships of the State.

Art. 103. The seized ship and its cargo shall, as far as possible,
be kept intact during the voyage to port. If the cargo includes
articles liable to deteriorate easily, the captor, so far as possible
with the consent of the captain of the seized ship and in his
presence, shall take the best measures toward the preservation
of these articles.

Art. 104. Destruction of vessels and goods liable to confiscation.
Belligerents are not permitted to destroy seized enemy ships,
except in so far as they are subject to confiscation and because
of exceptional necessity, that is, when the safety of the captor
ship or the success of the war operations in which it is at that
time engaged, demands it. Before the vessel is destroyed all persons
on board must be placed in safety, and all the ship's papers and
other documents which the parties interested consider relevant
for the purpose of deciding on the validity of the capture must
be taken on board the war-ship. The same rule shall hold, as far
as possible, for the goods. A ' procès-verbal ' of the
destruction of the captured ship and of the reasons which led
to it must be drawn up.

Art. 105. The captor has the right to demand the handing over,
or to proceed himself to the destruction of, any goods liable
to condemnation found on board a vessel not herself liable to
condemnation, provided that the circumstances are such as would,
under the preceding article, justify the destruction of a vessel
herself liable to condemnation. The captor must enter the goods
surrendered or destroyed in the log-book of the vessel stopped,
and must obtain duly certified copies of all relevant papers.
When the goods have been handed over or destroyed, and the formalities
duly carried out, the master must be allowed to continue his voyage.

Art. 106. Use of captured ships. If the captured ship or its
cargo is necessary to the captor for immediate public use, he
may use them thus. In this case, impartial persons shall make
a careful estimate and inventory of the ship and its cargo, and
this estimate shall be sent, together with the account of the
capture, to the prize court.

Art. 107. Loss of prizes through the perils of the sea. If
a prize is lost by the perils of the sea, the fact must be carefully
ascertained. In that case no indemnity is due, either for the
ship or for the cargo, provided that if the prize be subsequently
annulled the captor is able to prove that the loss would have
occurred even without capture.

Art. 108. Recapture. When a ship has been taken and retaken
and is then captured from the recaptor, the last captor only has
the right to it.

Art. 109. Prize procedure. The captured vessel and its cargo,
once in the port of the captor or of an allied State, shall be
turned over, with all necessary documents, to the competent authority.

Art. 110. The legality and the regularity of the capture of
enemy vessels and of the seizure of goods must be established
before a prize court.

Art. 111. All recaptures must likewise be judged by a prize
court.

Art. 112. A belligerent State shall not obtain possession of
the ship or goods that it has seized during the war until such
time as, by final decree, the prize court shall have adjudged
the confiscation of the said ship or said goods in its favour.

Art. 113. If the seizure of the ship or of the goods is not
upheld by the prize court, or if the prize is released without
any judgment being given, the parties interested have the right
to compensation, unless there were good reasons for capturing
the vessel or the goods.

Art. 114. In case of the destruction of a vessel, the captor
shall be required to compensate the parties interested, unless
he is able to justify the exceptional necessity of the destruction,
or unless, the destruction having been justified, the capture
is subsequently declared void.

The same rule is applicable to the case provided for in Article
105.

If goods not liable to confiscation have been destroyed, the
owner of the goods has a right to an indemnity.

In the case of a captor's using the ship or the cargo after
the seizure, he must, if his act is held to have been illegal,
pay the interested parties an equitable indemnity, according to
the documents drawn up at the time the vessel or goods were used.

Art. 115. Unlike non-military public ships and enemy private
ships, belligerent war-ships taken by the adversary, as well as
their ' matériel, ' become the property of the latter as
soon as they fall into his possession, without the decision of
a prize court being necessary.

SECTION IX

ON THE END OF HOSTILITIES

Art. 116. Peace. Acts of hostility must cease upon the signing
of the treaty of peace.

Notice of the end of the war shall be communicated by each
government to the commander of its naval forces with as little
delay as possible.

When hostile acts have been committed after the signing of
the treaty of peace, the former status must, as far as possible,
be restored.

When they have been committed after the official notification
of the treaty of peace, they entail the payment of an indemnity
and the punishment of the guilty.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE

In conformity with Article 3 of the Hague Convention of 18
October 1907, concerning the laws and customs of war on land,
the belligerent party which violates the provisions of the present
regulations shall, if the case demands, be obliged to pay compensation;
it shall be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming
part of its armed naval forces.